trunk show : a success

i had a great time at the trunk show last saturday. i met karin only 2 months ago at the walker jewelry mart but i must say we are quickly becoming friends and she is a pleasure to be around {especially during the lunch-time lull when we snuck in some snl-videos online!} it was fun to be in her studio and to pretend for a day that i don't work in my basement. you can see the general layout of the space. my stuff was on the white wall on the left and karin's on the pink wall and on the right. i loved the way my necklaces looked hanging on the wall! it was a refreshing alternative to the table-only displays at previous shows, and actually reminded me of the exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute and how they displayed my work. {i just might start hanging some on the wall in my work space so that i can be visualy stimulated...}

the turn-out was for the show was good considering it is the middle of the summer and the sun was out. a few friends stopped by, including amanda {of eastvold custom} and anne {of anne's chit chat} pictured below. i put my camera away once the conversations started, so don't have pictures of everyone... but thank you beth, ryan, nicole and gabi for making your way over to see me! and thank you to all of the new people i met and who purchased some of my jewelry. i had a fantastic time!

i also wanted to include a snap-shot of some new pieces that i included in the show this time. they are an adaptation of my HOLLOW necklace and bracelet, but made out of polymer. a while back i discovered some places online that offer laser-cutting and immediately felt my heart drop ... natural defense mechanism, i guess. for several days i found myself really questioning what i was doing and what made my work different from everyone else who could have something laser cut. {doesn't really matter that i'm opperating the machine} well, it inspired me to think about my ideas/designs in a different material and i absolutely love the organic quality of these pieces. i opted to put them on loose chains instead of the neckwires, because it just seemed appropriate.

it is also ironic that karin was debuting some of her own laser-cut plastic jewelry {ordered from the site i just mentioned} and i loved to see the way that she used the tool. we had many people comment that our work compliments eachother really well, without really competing with eachother. a confirmation for me that a laser-cutter is one of many tools that designers and craftspeople use to make their own unique work. i like to think of it as a sewing machine.

i had a great conversation with willie willette {of willie willette works} at the end of the day saturday about the concept of art and ideas. he mentioned the old comment that people often make when seeing a piece of modern art or an abstract painting ... "i could do that." yes, you could, but you didn't. my work is my work because i thought to do it. and as long as i remind myself of that fact, i hope my heart will stay in the right place!

update: i should clarify ... willie willette did not say 'i could do that' ... we were actually discussing the notion that people in general say those things about pieces of work that appear to be clean and simple etc. when i brought up my own thoughts regarding tools & technology becoming accessible to the general public. he is a craftsman and has struggled with similar sorts of things. -- after reading martha's comment i realize my phrasing could be taken wrong. ;)